The Master of Urban Fantasy Brings Back Some Originality
Source: Io9
Charles de Lint is a god among fantasy writers, and an urban fantasy pioneer. So I guess it’s no surprise that with The Painted Boy, he manages to breathe awesome new life into the tired “magical coming of age” story.
There be spoilers below.
I’ve been a crazed de Lint fanatic since I first stumbled on a copy of Someplace To Be Flying years ago, and went on a major de Lint jag, mainlining as many of his books as I could in the period of a couple weeks. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by him that didn’t blow me away.
So I was excited to see a review copy of The Painted Boy, his new young-adult fantasy novel. When I realized it was about a fusion of Asian and Latin-American folklore, with a Chinese dragon living among Mexican people in the barrio, I was slightly more nervous, because such things can seriously wrong in the hands of a white author. I’m not even talking about the complex issues of cultural appropriation that arise in such circumstances — I’m just talking about the cheesiness that often comes up. As someone who majored in Asian Studies and lived in Asia for several years, I’ve had cause to roll my eyes more than once at Western authors trying to draw on Asian mythology, and the drek that can result.
Read More HERE
Strong Women in Science Fiction
Via: Associatedcontent
When people think about science fiction they generally think about the stereotypical space movie or book complete with lasers, aliens and space ships. However, there are some fantastic examples of strong female protagonists in the genre. At first, there were just a few authors like Marion Zimmer Bradley and Anne McCaffrey who wanted to offset the lack of strong women in the science fiction they were reading. Today more and more authors are including capable women in their science fiction, and some of those women are the toughest characters around. Here are some of the best examples of science fiction with strong, capable women at the forefront. They are far from the only examples, but those that I consider a great starting point. Restoree is Anne McCaffrey’s first book and was published in 1967. In Restoree, Sara is captured by aliens and instructed to take care of a man that is being held against his will in a mental institution. Only Sara can rescue him from his captivity. The book features adventure, romance, and action and is the perfect choice for readers that enjoy classic or more progressive science fiction.
The Rest HERE
Pyr celebrates its 100th publication
From: Examiner
Publishers Weekly gave The Wolf Age a starred review, calling it “harrowing and beautiful” and noting that “Enge’s elegant prose perfectly captures Morlock’s terse and morbid nature, which thrives in the vicious, honorable werewolf nation. Numerous intimate, complicated, and contentious relationships provide depth and gravity to the grim tale, which will enthrall fans of the dark and sinister.”
Pyr is celebrating by giving away an exclusive eBook: “Traveller’s Rest,” a novelette by Enge, featuring cover art by Chuck Lukacs.
Here’s Enge’s comment on the fanfare:
I’m honored to be Pyr’s centenarian (or centurion?). Between that distinction and the World Fantasy Award nomination for Blood of Ambrose, it’s been a pretty cool fall. Both the WFA nominees and the authors on the Pyr list are pretty impressive company; it’s a privilege to be counted among them.
Source HERE
Next two articles are from MTV
‘Vampire Academy’ Author Richelle Mead Talks ‘Last Sacrifice,’ New Beginnings
Tuesday is a bittersweet day for fans of Richelle Mead’s “Vampire Academy” series, as the sixth book, “Last Sacrifice” hits shelves. Half-vampire/half-human teen bodyguard Rose Hathaway at last gets to see an end to her many heartbreaks and death-threatening adventures. Whether you’re savoring every last word of Dimitri’s and Adrian’s, or just entering St. Vladimir’s for the first time, take a second to read my interview with Richelle, in which she talked about both the origin and conclusion of the series, what fans can expect from next year’s spin-off series “Bloodlines” and how the movie adaptation is going along (actually, check back here tomorrow for that part).MTV: How did you decide to write a young-adult vampire series in the first place?
Richelle Mead: I had sold my first two adult books—[“Succubus Blues”*] and then the “Dark Swan” series—there was such a lag in publishing that first book. So I had free time, and I thought, “I’ll just start a third series.” I was teaching eighth or ninth grade at the time. Vampires were mostly chosen because they were the next thing I hadn’t written about. Georgina [of the “Succubus” books] has demons and angels; “Dark Swan” is fairy based. It was like, let’s spin the wheel of paranormal creatures!
I hadn’t even heard of “Twilight” at the time. [But] by the time “Vampire Academy” was finished and up for submission, the publishers were comparing it to “Twilight.” My agent came back and was like, “So and so said it was too much like it. So and so said it wasn’t enough like it.” And I was like, “What is it?” I’m glad I lived in a bubble at the time.
But your vampires are very different from the ones in “Twilight.”
I was just kind of digging around for an interesting take. I found this little Romanian myth about two races of vampires [Moroi and Strigoi], and I built it up from there.
Which Of This Year’s YA Novels Was Your Favorite?
Show of hands: Who agrees that 2010 was a pretty darn good year for YA novels? Our bookcase certainly tells the tale: Suzanne Collins set the world ablaze with the gripping finale to her “Hunger Games” saga. Stephenie Meyer surprised us with a “Twilight” novella we didn’t see coming. And Hilary Duff took on a new role as author, debuting her very first novel. We were protected by the ever-vigilant eyes of the Shadowhunters and watched our backs for evil Strigoi. We went back to the beginning with our favorite fashionista and got an extra sweet dash of L.A. candy.All in all, we hardly had time to devour all of this year’s stellar reads. We certainly have our favorites, but we want to hear from you: What was your favorite YA novel released this year? Cast your vote after the jump. The poll will be open until December 14 at 12 p.m. (ET) when we’ll announce the results!
Vote HERE
Hmmm I’ve never read Charles de Lint, I wonder if his books are any good. 100 publications wow that is a awesome mile stone! I really enjoyed most of the YA books that came out this year.
Have any of you read Charles de Lint? I’m always looking for new books to read, if he is any good maybe I will check him out. Do you read the Vampire Academy books? Have you gotten your copy of last sacrifice yet? Make sure you go vote for your favorite YA novel, and then share with us here what you picked!
